Isaac Shelby

Isaac Shelby (11 December 1750-18 July 1826) was Governor of Kentucky from 4 June 1792 to 1 June 1796, preceding James Garrard, and again from 24 August 1812 to 5 September 1816, succeeding Charles Scott and preceding George Madison. Shelby was previously a general of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and War of 1812, fighting at the Battle of King's Mountain and the Battle of the Thames.

Biography
Isaac Shelby was born on 11 December 1750 in Hagerstown, Maryland. The son of fur trapper Evan Shelby, he served as his father's second-in-command at the Battle of Point Pleasant during Lord Dunmore's War, and he was known as an expert woodsman and surveyor. During the American Revolutionary War, Shelby helped in raising supplies for the Continental Army and accompanied John Sevier on expeditions against the Native Americans along the Appalachian Mountains. Shelby was one of the militia commanders at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780, winning a great victory against Patrick Ferguson's Tories; his service led to him being granted land in the new colony of Kentucky. In 1792, he was unanimously elected as the first Governor of Kentucky, and he organized the first state government while fighting against the Native Americans. In 1796, he retired from public life, but the War of 1812 led to him running for Governor again, being elected on 24 August 1812. Shelby personally led Kentucky militia at the Battle of the Thames against Tecumseh's Indians at William Henry Harrison's request, and he negotiated the purchase of land from the Chickasaw tribe with Andrew Jackson after the war. Shelby died in 1826 in Lincoln County, Kentucky.